In the not-too-distant future, we will begin seeing unified customer support platforms that allow companies and their customers to communicate seamlessly via the Web, telephone and wireless devices. In this article, we will learn how two evolutionary trends are creating a new generation of unified customer communication platforms.

The decision on whether to use a natural dialog approach instead of a directed dialog in an IVR application will directly affect the cost, effort, and maintenance of the system. This article will give you a process that you can use to make the right decision.

In Part IV of the Introduction to CCXML, we will learn how to set up and breakdown a 2-party conference call using <join> and <unjoin>. We will also learn more about state variables and their use in CCXML.

If you're in the process of deciding on using VoiceXML technologies for a critical business application, you've probably made many assumptions. Before you take the plunge, or even if you have already done so, you might want to read how you can avoid the 10 most common pitfalls with VoiceXML implementations.

Developing a VoiceXML IVR is straightforward. Designing a quality speech interface, on the other hand, is a long road paved with assumptions, mistakes and failures. Read Jonathan's 10 best practices for VUI design and learn from his mistakes before you fall into the same traps.

Dialed Number Identification Service (or DNIS) is a standard that most telephone companies in the United States use to identify the number that was dialed. In this tutorial, we will learn how to use DNIS information to direct callers to sub-menus in VoiceXML applications.

In the last tutorial, we learned how to use the Dialed Number Identification Service (or DNIS) to direct callers to sub-menus in VoiceXML applications. In this follow-up tutorial, we will learn how to use Automatic Number Identification (ANI) to recognize callers.

In this edition of the VoiceXML Developer, we will complete our pizza ordering application by accepting the order, logging the transaction in an Access database, and playing an order confirmation for the user.

The recent VoiceXMLPlanet Conference provided a glimpse into potential new markets that may emerge as a result of VoiceXML technology. Author Jonathan Eisenzopf takes a look at the top insights that he received from the conference in this article.

Is the new speech IVR market segment healthy? Will VoiceXML replace proprietary development environments? VoiceXML expert and consultant Jonathan Eisenzopf provides a summary of recent activity and trends in the speech IVR market.

Up 'til now, the VoiceXML examples we've used have been directed dialogs, which prompt users for input in a pre-defined order. In this edition of the VoiceXML Developer, we're going to learn how to develop mixed initiative dialogs, which allow users to fill multiple fields with a single utterance.

The Call Control eXtensible Markup Language provides the call management, event processing and conferencing capabilities that VoiceXML lacks. The first installment in this series will provide an overview of the purpose, features and concepts of the CCXML language.

The decision on whether to use a natural dialog approach instead of a directed dialog in an IVR application will directly affect the cost, effort, and maintenance of the system. This article will give you a process that you can use to make the right decision.

This technical series will provide programmers with a complete introduction to the VoiceXML 2.0 grammar format. In part I, we will discuss the XML and ABNF formats, as well as the structure and elements included in a VXML 2.0 document.

In January of 2002 the World Wide Web Consortium released a rule that requires Web standards be issued royalty free (RF). Intellectual property rights have become a big concern in the Web standardization process, especially for VoiceXML developers.

In the last edition of the VoiceXML Developer, we created a full VoiceXML application using form fields, a subdialog, and internal grammars. In this edition, we will learn more about one of the most important, but rarely covered components of a VoiceXML application, grammars.

In this fourth segment of our complete tour through VoiceXML, we will learn how to test user input after it has been spoken. We'll also learn how to utilize conditional statements such as if and else to control call flow. Lastly, we'll learn how to catch and handle errors and other VoiceXML events.

The SALT specification was recently submitted to the Voice Browser and Multimodal Interaction working groups of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This article discusses the implications for VoiceXML developers and those companies who currently provide support for the VXML standard.

In this second edition of the VoiceXML Developer, we'll begin a complete walk through of all elements included in the VoiceXML 1.0 specification. This edition introduces the basic elements used to create content for the voice Web.

The first edition of the VoiceXML Developer series will provide you with a synopsis of VoiceXML and a glimpse into the technology used to develop VoiceXML applications. Subsequent editions will go into the specific details of creating VoiceXML applications.

After months of hype but no substance, the SALT Forum finally released a draft version of the Speech Application Language Tags (SALT) specification on February 19. Read VXML expert Jonathan Eisenzopf's initial impression in this feature article.

One way to develop powerful VoiceXML applications is to leverage existing Web applications by simulating a Web browser and scraping the results via a programmable HTTP Web agent. This example allows users to track a Federal Express package, using the fedex.com Web site.

So you want to develop and deploy a VoiceXML application, but you're not sure whether to build your own VoiceXML gateway, buy a turnkey solution, or host your application? This article will lay out the pros and cons when considering a VoiceASP and discuss the features, costs, and tools provided by each of the top vendors.

Is your telephone system or call center integrated with your eBusiness platform? Why not? This article will outline the potential business benefits of integrating your eBusiness infrastructure with your telephone sales and support channels.

As vendors continue to introduce new VoiceXML gateways, the task of selecting the right solution has become more difficult. This article will provide you with a number of selection criteria to help you ask the right questions when evaluating VoiceXML gateway options.

In the not-too-distant future, we will begin seeing unified customer support platforms that allow companies and their customers to communicate seamlessly via the Web, telephone and wireless devices. In this article, we will learn how two evolutionary trends are creating a new generation of unified customer communication platforms.

If you want to develop VoiceXML applications but don't know where to start, this guide is for you. This 8-step guide contains all the information you need to start developing and deploying VoiceXML applications—prior experience is not required.

VoiceXML, Strategies and Techniques for Effective
Voice Application Development with VoiceXML 2.0 is the VoiceXML book I wish I had written. Find out why this
recently published work is this writer's favorite VoiceXML title currently in
print.

Microsoft is about to release a free Beta version of its .NET Speech SDK this week. This is Microsoft's first foray in the growing voice Web market where speech recognition technology is fused with Web technologies and the telephone. Read more about here...